The walk back was quiet, but their was an uncomfortable air between then. Like something set to soon or to late. Shale guesses that Renneas was either feeling scared, angry, worried for the others, something else, all four or a mix of them and several others. Either way, she planned on breaking the news to the others anyways. She made sure to ask later on what had happened to Topham anyways. Hopefully he was sealed away in some fanciful box six feet under, in the dirt where he belongs.
They stepped through the worn down trail through the branches and back to the lake and their cabin. Though Shale didn't expect to see then all huddled around the stroked fire and they all seemed to be wearing some kind of vine crown with colourful foliage stuck in between. Each seemed to be colour coded. Skarloey had several small branches with red buds and leaves tucked in, Rusty had a array of bright orange leaves hanging around and over his head, Falcons was spotted with both dark purple leaves and some small blue flowers sewed in, Edwards was a mix of bright red clusters of berries and yellow leaves along with bright blue petals and a feather and Peter Sams was filled with small clipping from pine trees, some blades of grass and she though she saw a acorn tucked up there. Even Duncan had one on his head with bright golden leaves what she could guess were tiny buttercups.
She couldn't help but think it looked childish but it was also rather sweet.
Renneas coughed subtly, and she lead him forward. She shook out those thoughts and stepped towards the fire pit. Each of the engines waved hello once they saw her coming, she felt awkward for disturbing their discussions but gave a short wave back anyways. She sat down, opened up her bag and pulled out the books and water.
"Heya guys, sorry I had to leave early." She passed the bottles around to the engines. "Glad to see you managed to figure out how to light a fire. Any of of you got burned?"
"No, I believe we're alright." Skarloey turned over his hand. "At least I think I am."
"Right, that's gonna be a hassle to track since you can't feel pain." She said. Ironically, some days she thought it would be much easier if she couldn't feel pain. But now that she gave it more thought it had several drawbacks. Infections could set in without knowing, you could bleed out or starve without knowing it.
When the bottles of water made it to everyone's hands, she showed then how to open the caps by twisting the lids. Some of them, such as Duncan, tried straight up pulling them off and it actually worked. Though he also succeeded in the water being shot upwards into his face but at least it didn't all spill out. Duncan coughed hard as he tried to wipe away the water that went into his nose and eyes while the others watched and laughed. Though Skarloey was kind enough to at least take his bottle out of his hands and trade it with his own which was still sealed.
"Look, you gotta twist it to open it. Like this." She grabbed the lid and twisted it so it opened. The other copied the motion but only some of them managed to open.
"Uhh, I think I did it wrong." Peter frowned as he began observing the bottle from different angles.
"Don't worry, just try twisting it in the opposite direction. And be careful when you guys take a swig. Don't just tip it back, take small sips."
The others eventually opened the lids easily enough and were careful taking their first steps and thankfully none of them choked. Though Duncan mumbled angrily to himself as water dripped from his mohawk and causes it to fall limp, which Shale had to admit it looked hilarious but didn't which she made evident.
"Oh shut up ya rust-head. It ain't that funny." He mumbled.
"Yea...no, it's that funny." She smirked. She opened her bag and laid out some of the small boxes of cereal, fruits and several smaller treats and the box of cookies she got from the boy. Shale opened up one of the cereal boxes and stuffed a handful into her mouth after handing one to the rest of the engines.
She took a moment to swallow before talking. "Anyhow, I got those books. So now we've got an idea of what we can and can't use, not to mention you guys'll finally get a proper chance to read." Shale pulled out the books carefully and set them on her lap, flipping through the pages. "Renneas, did you pick up on anything?"
Shale already knew the basics and the do's and don'ts of plants; don't risk eating if you don't know, leaves of three-let it be and cross check anything you find. She just wanted to see if Renneas picked up on these as well, she had faith he did but wanted reassurance. He looked nervous with being put under the spotlight again, the fiddling was back. But it stopped when Skarloey gave him a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
He took a breath before starting. "While I do not recall much, the authors of both books made sure to repeat that we should not eat anything we find without being sure that it's safe. No mater how tempting. Umm... I think they also wrote about something on a very common but dangerous plant they called Poison Ivy. They even added a short slogan to help remember this; leaves of three, then let it be. Also, even if we do find something that could be eaten to check it with a book."
Shale was about to cut in, surprised that he did remember everything she expected, he continued speaking. "Oh, they also drew a picture that showed how each animal in a forest was connected. I think it was called a 'Food Web'? But it was very interesting seeing how each thing was connected, as in how the trees provide for the squirrels who then provide more trees and also act as food for Falcons."
"What? But you'd never eat a squirrel!" Peter exclaimed. "You didn't, did you? You couldn't do that. Their so fluffy and cute and-"
"Geez, I don't even think we coulda eaten as engines." Duncan rolled his eyes. "And he ain't talkin bout' 'im. It's those big birds that live on the mountain cliffs, the ones passengers always liked takin pictures of."
"They are rather beautiful creatures, so I can understand why." Renneas added.
"Well I'm the better Falcon anyways." Said the appropriately named engine.
"Better at being a nuance, that's for sure." Duncan mumbled.
That causes another uproar of laughter from the others. Even though Shale still felt bitter, no, more neglected. But it was nice to get confirmation of her theory. It showed that they were learning how to be humans, even if they still had some kinks to work out and some edges to smooth over it seemed to be going smoothly for now. And really, she was fine with it. Famous last words.
She decided to cut in. "Anyways, good to see you guys listened. Makes things easier for me."
"Oh, sorry Shale. I didn't mean to overtake you." He apologized.
She shrugged. "Meh, not like it's gonna matter down the line." A random thought just came to her, she still didn't clean her bandana. She'd have to get that eventually and she moved to walk back to the cabin but Edward seemed to have the same idea.
"Wait, Shale I can get what you need. Uhh," he paused. "Is it your bandana?"
"Yea but it's fine, I can get it." Shale waved him away.
"But don't you have something to say? It's alright, I can find it for you."
"Edward-" She considered arguing again but then she had an idea. "Okay, sure Eddy. I can wait here."
He nodded and then made his way back into the cabin. When he was far enough away she turned to the rest of the engines. "So, how is Edward fairing. Is he still stable?" Shales logic was that since she was the first person (presumably) he'd seem, he might have formed a sort of dependence on her. An idea that both annoyed and humbled her. But in a way, she enjoys whatever you could call their relationship. It certainly wasn't in a romantic sense - he was almost a century older than her. She felt it more akin to a brotherly one, which was still a odd comparison since, again, he was old enough to be her grandfather.
But she still enjoyed it. It was one of the big reasons she decided to remain with the engines at all. And part of her though the others believed the same.
The others looked to her and surprisingly, none of them looked concerned. If anything they seemed somewhat awkward. "Actually, Edward seemed alright once he woke up. Though he was very concerned by the fact you left without warning. Thankfully, he didn't have any sort of panic attacks."
"Meh, he was kinda quiet though." Falcon commented.
Shale frowned slightly, she didn't know what to make of this. "Go on, what else happened while we were gone?"
"We did manage to light the fire again." Rusty spoke up. "Though I think I burnt part of my sweater." He tugged at the tip of his sleeves and she could see how it was charred black. It she couldn't tell if his skin was burned too, or at least if it was it wasn't obvious.
"Skin doesn't feel funny? Anything feels off?" She asked.
"Hmm." He grazed the skin of his wrists. "It does feel a little warm and somewhat rough. Is that a sign of damage?"
"Anyways, why are we talking about Edward behind his back like this?" Falcon asked quizzical. "Not like he's gonna judge us for it."
"I just... I don't know. I guess I just want an unbiased opinion." Shale mumble. She didn't have any good excuse, but it wasn't a big deal. "I just didn't want Edward to feel uncomfortable if he did get a panic attack. Though now I can see that never happened."
"Oh." Once again, the engines didn't know how to respond. The silence only continued for a minute this time before Renneas spoke up. "Shale, didn't you want to teach the others how to read?"
"Yea, how much can you guys read anyways?" She asked.
"We can read." Skarloey began. "Though I admit it isn't much, mostly just basic signs and certain town signs."
"Wait, then how'd you all learn how to speak all fancy-y?"
"It's mostly because of the other humans we were around along with the fact that we never really did need to learn how to speak, it was just something we learned over time."
"Huh, that kinda weird." Shale mumbled. "I mean, weird as in I don't really get how that works. But hey, that makes it easier to learn. I guess. Here, try reading this out loud. I'm gonna clean out my bandana."
She handed some of the simpler books to Renneas and Skarloey. "Here, be careful with these. Don't drop em and don't let em near the fire." Shale stepped over to the water and rubbed the stains out. The black marks on her bandana began to leach out and she could see that the water above the bandana had taken on a slight waver and hue.
Peter was currently sharing his book with Falcon and were going through one of the pages covered with illustrations of native flowers. He pointed to one with bright red one with four petals each. "Huh, how do you pronounce this name?"
"Pe-pe-tu-ni-as." Falcon sounded out. "Weird name for a flower. Didn't you use those for her crown thingy Stuart?"
"Oh so that's what their called." Peter pulled up another vine crown. This one was made of a mix of vines and thin maroon branches. Bright red flowers were tied by the stems to the crown and around the edges were small bundles of grasses and leaves. He got up from his seat right as Shale began wringing out her bandana. Now most of the stains were gone and the colour had gone from muddy green to a deep aqua shade. She pulled up her hair and tied the bandana so it pushed her rust red hair back from her forehead, even though some strands fell past.
Shale turned back to see Peter standing behind her, rocking back and forth on his heels with his hands behind his back. She cocked an eyebrow. "Heya Peter, having problems reading?"
"No, it's nothing like that." He beamed. Shale couldn't help but think he was up to something malicious, like pushing her into the lake, but she knew the engines were beyond that.
"C'mon then, I know your hiding something."
He presented the vine crown with his hands folded outward, eyes alight with happiness. "Ta-da!"
Shale had to admit, she was impressed. Despite the drastic lack of resources Peter managed well and it did look very pretty. She'd seem his work with the rest of the engines crowns but she was grateful he'd made one for her as well. She set it on her head and took a sniff, she could still smell the flowers. Only a few moments after she pulled him into a quick hug. Peter yelped in shock but then gave a soft laugh. Shale grit her teeth and pulled away, thinking he didn't want that while silently berating herself.
"Uhh, sorry bout that Peter." said Shale, pulling back with fist at her side. "Thanks for the crown though."
He stared at her, confused. "Wait what do you - Oh! No, no that's alright Shale. I didn't mind, I'm just glad your happy."
"Seriously Pete? No awkward feelings? You ain't uncomfortable?"
"Yea, I mean, your just happy." His expression turned concerned. "Are you not happy? Did something happen while you were gone?"
"No, no I'm alright." Shale cut him of. She leaned over to see that the rest of the engines were watching anxiously. "Anyways, how are the rest of you doing?"
Skarloey perked up at her question. "So far so good, I admit to having trouble but it is rather confusing at some points."
"Yea, but I still don't get why we gotta learn this." Duncan grumble
"It's more from a practical standpoint, Duncan." Renneas said. "If we can learn how to read then it will be easier to understand written information. Also, because we've decided to make out she'd near the forest and since these books are about the native forests we may be able to learn about how we may be able to benefit."
"True not to mention we still have a lot to learn about being humans and it's not gonna be easy." Falcon added.
"And I admit I've begun to gain a curiosity for human literature. Perhaps next time we could stop by one of those news stands?"
Shale watched as the engines kept chatting amongst themselves. The slight cough was the only noise she made as she fiddled with the small atlas in her lap. She didn't feel like she had anything important to say, they seemed to grasp the main ideas of why she wanted - why they needed to learn to read. So she flipped through her own book and tried to understand a majority of the words, she wasn't very literate herself. Shale heard someone stepping up beside her, she already had a clue as to who. Edward was the only one not talking.
"Hello Shale." He sat beside her, hands in his lap and still smiling. He reached out to her open back but pulled back and turned to see Shale making a 'go on' gesture before reaching in. "So, how do you feel? Do you still feel damaged?"
"Hmm? Nah, it's healing pretty wel-" She paused to cough again, where did that come from? "well, just ignore that."
Edward gave her a skeptical glance but didn't say anything. Instead he went back to rummaging and pulled out the box of chocolate chip cookies and after a few moments to inspect the box, pulled open the tabs and handed it to Shale. "Here. You'll heal faster if you eat."
She mumbled a quick 'thanks' before digging in and taking a small handful. Edward placed the box down and tilted his head to get a better look at the atlas. She noticed his gaze and brushed some crumbs of before handing it to him. He smiled and took it with both hands, flipping through the pages. Shale dug around her bag before finding what she was looking for. Two small, slightly crushed oranges. She pulled out her knife and began peeling the skins with her knife. She laid the skins beside her on the log and handed one to Edward.
"Look what I found. Seemed familiar?" She asked. Edward looked confused but took the fruit regardless. It took a demonstration from Shale peeling out a piece and popping it into her mouth for him to learn how to eat it. "It's the first thing I gave you when you met me under the tree."
His eyes went wide for a moment. Shale though he was going to have another panic attack but instead his head fell limp over the book. "Eddie? Sorry mate, didn't mean to stir up bad memories."
"N-no it's alright. Just thinking."
"Alright. Do you wanna talk?" She watched Edward fiddled with the small cloud shaped charm and chain. Shale just turned back to her orange. She perked up when she heard him again.
"It's about my friends again." He choked out. "I wonder if... if we're all that's left or if the other are alright. Or perhaps they're still... still who we remember them as."
She saw how some of the other engines noticed Edward. She looked down to see that the juice from his orange had begun leaking through his closed fist. "I know it's a childish thought, but I can't help but hope there are others out there. They can't have changed all of us at once, could they? And if they are still alive, then what can we do? There has to be something, anything we could do to help. I..."
The rest of the engines fell silent, clinging onto each word. Shale leaned in slightly since his words were barely audible.
"I can't live with myself knowing I could've done something. I can't let them end up like my friends."
Shale leaned out, part of her wanting to argue against but one glance to the engines showed that they all had similar thoughts. Even if they hadn't heard Edwards. She had hoped this subject didn't come up again, this was far out of her league. This wasn't just some street gang, this was up in the big leagues. The suits, the corporate big wigs and the ones pulling the strings.
Falcon was the first to break the silence. "Edward has a point, what if there are other engines out there? What about the others like us? Arn't we gonna do anything about that, cause I'm pretty sure we're the only ones who can!"
"Falcon, please be rational." Renneas cut in.
"Well, he does have a fair point." Rusty added. "We may be the only living machines that escaped, thus we may be the only ones who could rescue the others. I'm sure it's dangerous and I'm sure it's risky. But I agree with Edward, we need to do something."
"That doesn't me we can do anything."
All eyes were on Shale now. She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but there was no backing down. "Look, it's great and all that you wanna rescue your friends but do you even know where to start? We don't have any resources, most of you just started to read. How much better will we fare against the ones who made you?"
She sighed. "I admit, I don't know where your coming from. But here's my advice, if you want to stay alive, then stay under the radar. It's survival of the fittest; rich against the poor. There's nothing we can do to stop them and I don't intend to throw my life away trying. This is how the world works and I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do."
1) Symbolism of the Petunia Flower. The petunia flower symbolizes anger and resentment especially when they are presented by someone with whom you have recently had a heated disagreement. ... According to some sources, petunias are also a symbol of not losing hope.
